[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3442 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3442

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance the rehabilitative 
  services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans 
   with mental illnesses and other veterans, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 5, 2003

 Mrs. Napolitano (for herself and Mr. Murphy) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance the rehabilitative 
  services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans 
   with mental illnesses and other veterans, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Mental Health and Back-to-
Work Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The statutory advisory committee of the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs known as the Committee on Care of Veterans 
        with Serious Mental Illness has underscored the need to 
        integrate psychosocial recovery in the treatment of mental 
        illness.
            (2) In its report to the President dated July 22, 2003, the 
        President's New Freedom Commision on Mental Health (established 
        by Executive order No. 13263 of April 29, 2002), identified the 
        hope of recovery as the single most important goal of mental 
        health service delivery.
            (3) The Surgeon General, in a report on mental health 
        issued in 1999, stated that ``state of the art care for severe 
        mental illness is recovery oriented care which requires an 
        array of services that include intensive case management, 
        access to substance abuse treatment, peer support and 
        psychosocial rehabilitation such as pharmacologic treatment, 
        housing, employment services, independent living and social 
        skills training.''.
            (4) During fiscal year 2002, the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs treated 757,767 patients in specialty mental health 
        settings, of whom 293,246 were seriously mentally ill.
            (5) Approximately 21 percent of all patients seen by the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs are seen for mental health 
        treatment.
            (6) When veterans with mental illness do not receive 
        comprehensive rehabilitative care, they are more likely to 
        become homeless and, according to the National Coalition for 
        Homeless Veterans, 45 percent of homeless veterans suffer from 
        at least one mental illness and need help finding a job.
            (7) A study of the program operations of the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs during fiscal year 2000 found that fewer than 
        one percent of the 82,000 veterans under the age of 55 who have 
        schizophrenia participated in compensated work therapy 
        programs.
            (8) The National Mental Health Information Center of the 
        Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of 
        the Department of Health and Human Services found a shocking 90 
        percent unemployment rate among adults with serious mental 
        illness, the worst level of unemployment of any group of people 
        with disabilities.
            (9) A study by the National Mental Health Information 
        Center found that serious mental illness need not lead to 
        unemployment when seriously mentally ill individuals are given 
        proper training and employment support services.

SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF REHABILITATIVE SERVICES FOR VETERANS WITH MENTAL 
              ILLNESS AND OTHER VETERANS.

    (a) Rehabilitative Services Through Medical Care Authority.--
Section 1701(8) is amended by striking ``(other than those types of 
vocational rehabilitation services provided under chapter 31 of this 
title)''.
    (b) Expansion of Authorized Rehabilitative Services.--Section 1718 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)(1)--
                    (A) by striking ``subsection (b) of this section'' 
                and inserting ``subsection (b) or (d)''; and
                    (B) by striking ``paragraph (2) of such 
                subsection'' and inserting ``subsection (b)(2)'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), and (f) as 
        subsections (e), (f), and (g), respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
        subsection (d):
    ``(d) In providing to a veteran rehabilitative services under this 
chapter, the Secretary may furnish the veteran with the following:
            ``(1) Work skills training and development services.
            ``(2) Employment support services.
            ``(3) Job development and placement services.''.

SEC. 4. COMMITTEE ON CARE OF VETERANS WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS.

    (a) Name of Committee.--The committee of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs established under section 7321 of title 38, United States Code, 
shall be known and designated as the ``Committee on Care of Veterans 
with Serious Mental Illness''.
    (b) Matters to Be Included in Annual Report.--Section 7321 of title 
38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection:
    ``(e) The committee shall include in its annual report to the 
Secretary its assessment of how the programs of the Department under 
section 1718 of this title are serving veterans with mental illness. 
The committee shall include such recommendations for improving services 
to veterans with mental illness under such programs as the committee 
considers appropriate.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--(1) Subsection (a) of such section is 
amended by striking ``Committee on Care of Severely Chronically 
Mentally Ill Veterans'' and inserting ``Committee on Care of Veterans 
with Serious Mental Illness''.
    (2) The heading of such section is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 7321. Committee on Care of Veterans with Serious Mental 
              Illness''.
    (3) The item relating to such section in the table of sections at 
the beginning of chapter 73 of such title is amended to read as 
follows:

``7321. Committee on Care of Veterans with Serious Mental Illness.''.
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